Egyptian police on Tuesday detained 20 Sudanese, including women and infants, from the war-torn Darfur region as they tried to make an illegal crossing into Israel, an Egyptian security source said. The group, including children as young as two months, were caught near the Rafah crossing point into the Gaza Strip and said they were seeking political asylum or work having paid Bedouin traffickers up to 750 dollars.
According to AFP, Israel on Sunday stated it would return all those entering illegally from Egypt because of the high rate of trafficking across the 250 kilometre border between the two states. The border has become a major transit route for mainly east European prostitutes headed to work in Israel, as well as for African migrants and asylum-seekers, and smugglers of illegal weapons and drugs.
